Annadurai

Kanchipuram Natarajan Annadurai (15 Sept 1909 – 3 Feb 1969), often referred to as Anna, was 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Anna was born in Kancheepuram in a middle class family, he studied at Pachiyappa's high school and at its college, Chennai. He became a follower of Periyar and joined the Justice Party. In 1949, he left Periyar and started a new party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He wrote Kamabarasam, a critique of the ancient poet Kambar who translated the Ramayana into Tamil, criticizing him for characterizations which Anna and others felt ridiculed Dravidians. In 1957, he became the Leader of the opposition in the State Assembly. In 1967 he became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; but he died of throat cancer in 1969.

External links

• Biography of Annadurai, M Karunanidhi